ACT Brumbies flyhalf Noah Lolesio yesterday missed the sideline conversion of backrower Rob Valetini’s last-minute try, allowing the Canterbury Crusaders to win 31-29 in the new Super Rugby Trans Tasman tournament.
Valetini stretched over the Crusaders’ goal line in the last minute of normal time to give the Canberra-based Brumbies the chance of an unexpected draw against the New Zealand champions.
However, Lolesio, who had kept a perfect kicking record until that point, drifted his conversion attempt from the left touchline wide of the left-hand post, and the 14-man Crusaders, who led throughout the match, hung on with a sigh of relief.
Photo: AFP
The Crusaders were on top for most of the match and led 19-7 at halftime, but the Brumbies fought back in the second half, and a flurry of late penalties reduced the Crusaders to 14 men and gave the visitors the chance to level the score.
“I’m definitely proud of the effort, especially the fight we showed in the second half to put us back in the game,” Brumbies captain Allan Alaalatoa said. “The boys were obviously devastated with the loss.”
“We came out here to win,” Alaalatoa said. “It shows when you come up against the Crusaders, you have to play the perfect game.”
The Crusaders have won a Super Rugby title in each of the past five years. They won the full Super Rugby tournament in 2017, 2018 and 2019, and the Super Rugby Aotearoa tournament last year and again this year, bringing their tally of Super Rugby titles to 12.
The Brumbies won the Australian tournament last year and were runners-up to the Queensland Reds this year.
The chance for a combined Australia-New Zealand competition arose this year when a “travel bubble” was established between the Pacific neighbors.
“It’s a new competition and we had to step up,” said center David Havili, who finished the match as the Crusaders’ captain. “We weren’t great, but we came away with the win.”
“It’s awesome to play our Aussie partners,” Havili said. “It’s a good change for us.”
The Crusaders struck early in the match with a try to flanker Ethan Blackadder after only four minutes.
The Brumbies missed touch with a kick out of defense, igniting the Crusaders’ dangerous counterattack. They probed first on the left, then swung the ball right where a double-round by winger Leicester Fainga’nuku and a sharp pass from lock Mitchell Dunshea put Blackadder over.
More than 20 minutes elapsed before the Brumbies scored from an attacking lineout when Lolesio jinked through the Crusaders’ defense and prop Scott Sio drove over.
The Crusaders replied instantly with a try to flyhalf Richie Mo’unga. Valetini knocked on the kick-off and from the attacking scrum Mo’unga faked to kick then stepped off his right foot to cut through the interior defense and score.
An intercept try to Havili, who crept up on the short side to pick off a pass from scrumhalf Ryan Lonergan, put the Crusaders ahead 19-7 at halftime.
The Brumbies saw little possession in the first half, but much more in the second, when they severely pressured the Crusaders.
They scored in the 50th minute when the ball popped unexpectedly to center Irae Simone at a breakdown under the Crusaders posts. A conversion and penalty to Lolesio cut the lead to two points, 19-17, after 58 minutes.
Tries to loosies Brendon O’Connor and Cullen Grace put the Crusaders ahead 31-17 before the Brumbies mounted an outstanding comeback with tries to winger Tom Banks and Valetini.
At AAMI Park in Melbourne, the Auckland Blues stormed to a 50-3, six-tries-to-none thrashing of the Rebels after leading 17-3 at halftime.
Additional reporting by staff writer
ANFIELD BLUES: Kylian Mbappe arrived at Anfield on a run of 21 goals in 17 games, but he managed just three attempts in the match, none of them hitting the target Kylian Mbappe has been nearly unstoppable this season, but he hit a roadblock in their UEFA Champions League match at Anfield on Tuesday. For the second year running, the Real Madrid forward had a night to forget at Merseyside as Liverpool won 1-0. Mbappe looked a shadow of the player who has been tearing defenses apart all season. “We were lacking that threat in the final third,” said Madrid coach Xabi Alonso, without naming Mbappe individually. The FIFA World Cup winner for France rarely looked capable of finding a breakthrough against a Liverpool team who have been so defensively fragile for much of the
Jemimah Rodrigues on Thursday hit an unbeaten 127 as India pulled off a record chase of 339 against Australia to set up a Women’s World Cup final against South Africa. Rodrigues and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who hit 89, put on 167 runs for the third wicket as India won with nine balls and five wickets to spare at DY Patil Stadium, on the outskirts of Mumbai. The hosts finished on a total of 341-5 in reply to Australia’s impressive 338 and ensured there would be a new name on the 50-over trophy tomorrow. Amanjot Kaur hit the winning boundary to trigger wild celebrations
Jannik Sinner on Thursday eased past Francisco Cerundolo 7-5, 6-1 at the Paris Masters to set up a quarter-final clash with Ben Shelton, while reigning champion Alexander Zverev earned a straight-sets win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the third round. A maiden crown in the French capital would return Sinner to No. 1 in the world rankings after current incumbent Carlos Alcaraz suffered a shock early exit at the hands of Britain’s Cameron Norrie. The Italian four-time Grand Slam champion is yet to drop a set in the tournament as he hones in on what would be a fifth title of the
LOCAL SUCCESS: In the doubles, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in straight sets Elena Rybakina on Monday punched her ticket to the WTA Finals last four with an impressive 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 victory over second seed Iga Swiatek in round-robin play in Riyadh. After cruising past Amanda Anisimova in her opener on Saturday, Rybakina claimed her second win of the week to guarantee herself top spot in the Serena Williams Group. Anisimova on Monday rallied back from a set and a break down to triumph 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in her all-American battle with seventh seed Madison Keys, who has been eliminated from the competition. “Madi was playing so well, it was quite a battle out there,”
RSS